This blog post looks forward to the forthcoming symposium at BERA Conference 2023, which will present the findings from two studies that were developed to examine the problem of institutional racism in a London-based, post-92 higher education institution (HEI).

The researchers aimed to (1) examine the extent to which prejudice, discrimination and racism were present across all levels of the HEI, and (2) understand the impact on both  Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) and non-BAME staff and students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND); thereby bringing to the fore diverse perspectives about the systems that serve to reproduce and maintain inequalities in HE (see Bhopal et al., 2016; Miller, 2021).

Paper 1: Race, higher education and special educational needs and disabilities

Questions about the overrepresentation of BAME groups with SEND have been raised for more than six decades. The widely-held belief that Black children were somehow ‘educationally sub-normal’ (Demie & McClean, 2017, p. 1) was formally articulated by Coard in 1971. In his paper, ‘How the West Indian child is made educationally sub-normal in the British school system’, Coard expressed real concern over the large numbers of children from African and Caribbean backgrounds that were being labelled as ‘educationally sub-normal’ (ESN), and how this label invariably led to stigmatisation, lowered expectations, school exclusion, and poor self-esteem and educational outcomes. It is against this background that the current pilot study (funded by BERA’s Small Grants Fund) emerged.

Drawing on survey data from 224 students enrolled in a London-based post-92 university, the study examined the experiences of individuals who self-identified with both BAME and SEND categories (n=46). To date, there has been limited research examining intersectional discrimination within HE in this way. Despite limitations (that is, the small sample size) the worrying results revealed that when compared to their non-BAME peers with SEND, BAME students with SEND are twice as likely to encounter challenging forms of interpersonal and microaggressive discrimination, including questions about their intelligence, abilities and worthiness as individuals. These findings suggest that the existing measures to address equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) are not effectively serving BAME students with SEND.

‘When compared to their non-BAME peers with SEND, BAME students with SEND are twice as likely to encounter challenging forms of interpersonal and microaggressive discrimination, including questions about their intelligence, abilities and worthiness as individuals.’

Paper 2: ‘I’m managed by a white man who’s managed by a white man who’s managed by a white woman who’s managed by a white man’: The psychosocial cost of racism on white university staff

The second paper presented in this symposium examines the Psychosocial Cost of Racism on White (PCRW) university staff. The PCRW is a concept proposed by Kivel (1996) in the US, to explore the emotional and psychological repercussions experienced by individuals who witness and confront racism, even when they are not the direct targets of it. In the UK, researchers exploring institutional racism within HE, invariably focus on the perspectives of BAME individuals, ignoring the significance of the PCRW on university staff.

Seeking to bridge this gap in the research, as part of a larger study, data were gathered through semi-structured individual interviews from non-BAME HE staff members (n=12). The findings highlighted how, despite benefiting from ‘white privilege’ (McIntosh, 2001), institutional racism still had an impact on non-BAME staff, resulting in emotions, such as anger, shame, embarrassment and anxiety. The findings indicate that addressing institutional racism in HE should not only focus on the direct targets of discrimination, but should also acknowledge and engage with the emotional and psychological toll it takes on non-BAME members of the university community. This perspective can lead to the development and implementation of more effective strategies and interventions.

A call to action

Be a part of this conversation by attending the symposium, 1.10 The Problem of Institutional Racism in a UK-Based University, on Tuesday 12 September, 11:00am­–12:30pm, room MB 227, at the BERA Annual Conference 2023.

References

Bhopal, K., Brown, H., & Jackson, J. (2016). BME academic flight from UK to overseas higher education: Aspects of marginalisation and exclusion. British Educational Research Journal, 42(2), 240–257. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:146603409

Coard, B. (1971). How the West Indian child is made educationally subnormal in the British school system. New Beacon Books.

Demie, F., & Mclean, C. (2017). Black Caribbean underachievement in schools in England.  Schools Research and Statistics Unit, Lambeth Education and Learning.

Kivel, P. (1996). The costs of racism to white people. In Uprooting racism: How white people can work for racial justice (pp. 36–39). New Society Publishers.

McIntosh, P. (2001). White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of coming to see correspondences through work in women’s studies (1988). In M. L. Anderson & P. H. Collins (Eds.), Race, class, and gender: An anthology (pp. 95–105). Wadsworth.

Miller, D. A. (2021). Black British female managers: The silent catastrophe. Gender Work and Organisation, 28(4), 1665–1682. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12688  

Miller, D. A. (2022). Race, higher education and special educational needs and disabilities. British Educational Research Association. https://www.bera.ac.uk/publication/race-higher-education-and-special-educational-needs-and-disabilities